CONCRETE Skateboarding Issue 119 Preview

Issue 119 will show up just in time for Canada’s stoke season, which means tons of skateboarding, demos and road trips are on the immediate horizon. Speaking of road trips, this issue’s feature well is stacked with the exploits of Canucks rolling Stateside. And those department cover lines don’t lie; heavy hitters live on #119’s pages. Keep an eye out for free copies, available in skateshops across Canada on June 11th.

FIRST TIMER // Cover photo and caption by Rich Odam

After MICKY PAPA and I arrived at Black Ice, we walked to the edge of the run-up and looked down at the very last step of the famous downtown Vancouver double. Not sure what it is, but this thing looks bigger every time. I asked if he had tried anything there, to which he mentioned: “I’ve never skated this thing before.” Not even an ollie. Micky opted for the corner-across-the-street start up line, which leaves you dealing with traffic and pedestrians before a quick carve-in to the black concrete, kind of like a high stakes game of “Peekaboo, here’s the set!” On three landing attempts his board shot out because of the sheer speed, but within a couple more tries he landed a VARIAL HEELFLIP in such a way that made the huge six-flat-five look more like a five-stair. And that’s the short story of how Micky got his very first cover.

10 can be a magic number, especially when it’s the length of time you’ve been open for business as an independent, community-minded skateshop like Vancouver’s ANTISOCIAL. The Sosh continues to keep it very real as owners Michelle Pezel and Rick McCrank wheel through their 10th year with a friendly mob of supporters behind them. Dylan Doubt opens up his photo archives and Jeff Thorburn explains why this retail entity is so unique.

Why the hell would you ever travel to places dubbed as “The Armpit” and “Dirty D”? Well, Will Jivcoff’s photos and words do a great job of explaining that despite the urban wasteland appearance of Windsor and Detroit, they’re ripe with unique, hassle-free spots and locals who are friendly, adaptive and creative. Windsor’s Hill Sulpher, Lee Saunders, Jamie Jeffery and others from both sides of the 49th help walk us through the phenomenon that is the BORDER CITIES.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ is something we all do, but Micky Papa, Matt Berger and Derek Swaim went ahead and settled into a Torrance, CA house in order to appropriately and literally “live the dream.” They had beds to sleep in, dressers to put their clothes in, and readily available scurvy medicine (aka oranges stolen from a neighbour’s tree). There was plenty of spots to skate, too. Even ones that involve a police helicopter and 5 squad cars. Rich Odam provides the visuals and Matt Meadows relays the story behind this issue’s headline feature.

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Bookmark concreteskateboarding.com to keep tabs on our Issue 119 extras, available for viewing on your desktop, iPhone and iPad. Take a look at some of the recent Concrete web highlights, in case you missed out: